Red Headed Virtues
by XxAriaxX
Summary: Fourteen-year-old Ginny Weasley is ready to take her life into her own hands - even if it means breaking some rules. But what happens when breaking the rules leads her into breaking her family ties and making bonds with someone neither she nor her family
1. September 1st

A/N: Okay, now this is my first attempt at anything in Harry's time, so don't blame me if it absolutely sucks! Okay, I don't mean that – who else would you blame if this was the worst fan fic you had ever read? But please review nevertheless! This is a D/G and an H/G – and I might throw in some R/Hr too – but only if you make me happy and review!

*

Ginny hated snoring. Her mom snored and it drove her nuts when she was at home. But two months wasn't too long. It was the other ten months at school that drove her insane. One of the other girls in her dorm, Alexia Matthews, was a snorer. That wasn't good news. It meant that Ginny spent every night tossing and turning until it was time to get up.

At least in her first year she had had other things on her mind, like Tom Riddle. And in her second year, she had asked Madam Pomfrey to give her a Sleeping Potion every week. (One vial lasted for seven days.) In her third year, she had thought she would go insane anyway after finding out that the only person she had ever looked up to besides three of her brothers didn't care a damn about her. This year, however, she had nothing but snores to listen to or think about. And she was sure that she would be insane by September 2nd.

Sighing, Ginny decided that it wouldn't hurt to go and take a walk around the grounds. _After all, she thought, __Ron and Harry have done it for ages, and they've never gotten caught. Why should I be the one with the bad luck?_

Silently, she slipped out of bed and pulled on a sweater over her pajamas. Strangely, she had always hated nightgowns, and only wore them when she was at home. (Her mom forced her. She thought Ginny should be like other girls.) She was a tomboy by nature, having grown up with six older brothers, and she detested skirts and dresses in any color, shape, and size. Her favorite colors were black and green – most unlike the girls in her year. (A/N: Can anyone guess why?) But more than anything, Ginny detested her name.

Virginia Marie Weasley – what kind of a name was that? She was nothing like the Virgin Mary; it was just too bad that the names shared a resemblance. In truth, she would give anything to have been a boy. For one, she wouldn't have been giving such a disgusting name. She may have been called Virgil, but she could put up with that. At least she would have been a _boy. For another, she would've been able to share the bonding that her brothers shared. She would've been one of them – rather than the only female Weasley. And, the thing which she thought of as most important, she wouldn't have had to worry about whether or not Harry Potter liked her._

Harry Potter – he was like the sole purpose of her life now. She didn't know why, but everything about him just made her feel giddy. She could barely frame a whole sentence in his presence without stuttering or blushing. She didn't know when her crush would end, but she hoped that it would soon, for she knew that while everything about Harry turned her _on, everything about __her turned Harry __off. It was just one of those things that couldn't be helped. So, Ginny consoled herself by thinking that at least she was his best friend's sister._

But the one thing that did get in the way was jealousy. Ginny knew that Harry had a crush on Cho, and she resented it. She couldn't help hating her for it. Ginny knew that she shouldn't and that she was being childish, but she was a person of wild thoughts and strange dreams and she wasn't about to give in to her conscience just yet.

As she tiptoed out of the Common Room, wand in hand, she heard a noise from behind her. Being the impatient fourteen-year-old that she was, she hurriedly pushed open the portrait-hole and crawled out, slamming it shut quickly.

"Goodness me isn't it a bit late to be wandering around the castle?" called the Fat Lady.

"Even if it is, you'll keep that fat mouth of yours shut if you're smart," Ginny seethed. She was tired and she wasn't about to let the Fat Lady get in the way of her sleep. She walked a little ways until she came to the entrance to the broom shed.

"Well, I could always practice my flying while I'm at it," she muttered. She slipped through silently, but before she could shut the door she heard a soft meow.

Biting her tongue, she realized that she had let Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, in along with her. She took a swing at her with her foot and felt it connect with the wall instead of with Mrs. Norris' sleek body. She swore in her mind and continued her walk down the dark passage until she was in the broom shed. She looked around and found what she was looking for easily.

Harry was the only one in the school with a Firebolt. He had been the only one, besides her brother, who had ridden one. Now was the time to change that. Ginny grabbed the broom and pulled it through the doorway with her. Once outside, she looked around her at the pitch. She had never seen it at nighttime before. It looked different, almost frightening. A shiver went down her back.

Ginny picked up the broom, and swinging one leg over it, she took off into the night sky. She felt the cool breeze kiss her face softly. If this was flying, then she sure had missed out on something during the past three years. She decided to do a couple of laps around the pitch. It was dark, and she didn't expect to be caught – at least not where she was now.

She was just finishing her first one, when she hit someone in midair. Her head was throbbing, but she was able to right herself nevertheless.

"Ouch – who is that?" said the male voice.

It was one that Ginny recognized, yet she couldn't place it. It was one that she certainly didn't like, however.

"Who's _that?" she hissed back._

"I asked first," the boy answered.

Ginny rolled her eyes, but it made her head hurt more, so she stopped. She scrutinized the boy, and from as much as she could tell, he seemed thin and short – maybe he was a second year, or a third year. He couldn't possibly be someone her age – he was too small for that. Okay, so she was small for her age too, but she was an exception.

"Hello, are you planning on asking or not?" his impatient voice called again.

"No, why would I?" Ginny said. She was starting to enjoy annoying this person, even though she couldn't for the life of her figure out whom she was talking to.

"Gryffindors…" he muttered, as he leaned into his broom and dived.

Ginny noticed that he was going pretty fast – almost as fast as Harry's Firebolt went. There weren't many people who had brooms that could reach such high speeds. In fact, the next fastest broom after the Firebolt was the Nimbus Two-Thousand and One – and only seven people in the school had that make – seven Slytherins, in fact…

Then, it hit her who he was. It was Draco Malfoy – the one person whom Harry hated more than anyone else – except for maybe Professor Snape or You-Know-Who. Curious as to what Draco was doing so late out, she followed him silently. He sensed her presence, however, and turned around sharply.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" he asked her. He didn't believe that anyone had the nerve of following him. _Okay, so maybe Potter and his stupid gang of Weasleys and Mudbloods might have the nerve of annoying me, but they wouldn't risk House points on the first night of school, would they?_

"I'm not trying to do anything. I just wanted to know what a third year would be doing at midnight on today of all days," Ginny said coolly, making sure that she was still in the shadows. She knew now that she was talking to someone a year older than her, but she still felt like teasing him – after all, he didn't know that she knew who he was.

"Do I look like a third year to you?" he yelled.

"Yes," she said, shrugging, unable to keep a grin off of her face.

"What kind of a Gryffindor are you?" he asked her.

"I don't know. You could always call me a Weasley," she said, as she flew into the light that shown down on the edge of the pitch. Ginny heard him let out a gasp as he recognized her red hair.

"What the fuck are you doing here – you stupid git?" he spat.

Glaring at him, she said, "I'd watch my language if I were you. Ron's a prefect this year – God knows why – and if you're not careful you might find yourself doing a week's worth of detentions. I'm sure that would make him happy."

"Prefects can't take points from prefects, Weasley. Didn't you know?" he asked, smirking at her.

Ginny bit her lip. She didn't know that Draco was a prefect – she hadn't expected _any of the Slytherins to be prefects. But then, she figured that there had to be at least __someone from Slytherin, and Draco did seem the likely choice – after all, there wasn't anything anyone could hold against him with the reputation that Snape held up for him._

"Of course, I knew – but you're forgetting that I have two prefects on my side. I dare say Professor Dumbledore's more likely to listen to Ron and Hermione than _you," she hissed back._

"Do you expect a damn Mudblood like that to get me in trouble? Think again, Weasley," Draco answered – his voice full of malice.

"Shut your mouth," Ginny said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, buzz off. I've got enough on my mind without a stupid Weasley on my tail," he said, and with that, he flew off into the distance.

Ginny just watched after him. She knew that she had more than likely bitten off more than she could chew at the moment, but she didn't care. She was tired of being looked at as the sweet Weasley with the 'heart of gold' that she only could have gotten from her mother, and the cute little smile that was definitely her father's. She was sick and tired of it all. She just wanted to chuck it in the garbage. She was fed up with being her parents' perfect little daughter. And for some reason, Draco had brought all these things to mind.

She wasn't sure why, but he had planted these ideas in her mind – just by talking. She wasn't sure why she was giving _him the credit – after all, she still hated his guts, but she knew that he had said something or done something that had helped her make her decision._

Ginny leaned into the broom and soared off in the direction Draco had – but stopped by as she reached the broom shed. She listened intently to see if he was still there, and relaxed as she saw that he had gone already. Creeping in silently, she put away Harry's broom carefully in the same position in which she had found it, and walked back up the passageway until she had reached the main hall in the castle. She treaded cautiously, making sure as to not run into Mrs. Norris again.

Two minutes later, she had reached the portrait hole again. The Fat Lady was sleeping in her frame, her head propped up on the side of the painting.

"Hell, wake up sleepyhead! I want to go in! The password is Fagging Felony – now open _up!" Ginny squealed._

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry – so it's you again, is it? What have you been doing so long?" she asked as she woke up.

"It's none of your business – Fagging Felony!"

"What did you call me?" the Fat Lady asked, raising an eyebrow at the redhead.

"I didn't call _you anything – that's the password so hurry up and let me in!" Ginny roared._

"Oh, good heavens, you've got a temper. You mustn't be so rude, honestly!" the lady scolded lightly, swinging open nonetheless.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind…" Ginny said sarcastically as she crawled through.

Yawning heavily, she stretched out her arms and dragged herself up the stairs to her dorm. She slipped inside and took off her sweater. Not bothering to get under the covers, Ginny collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

*

A/N: So, how'd you like it? Was it an okay start, do you think? It wasn't too farfetched, was it? Okay, now, instead of having me ask all the questions, how about having you write me a review, please? That would be nice, you know.


	2. Classes

A/N: Wow – I actually got some reviews! That's good news – right? Well, either way, I'm going to keep writing this story, so get ready for Chapter Two!

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story except for the Matthew twins – as of now, anyway. I might introduce some characters later on, but I don't know yet. I'll tell you when I do, okay?**

*

"Miss Weasley, you will do good in the future to come into class on time. Luckily for _you, I am usually lenient on the second day of school, or else you may have found yourself in Professor McGonagall's office. Now, please take a seat!" scolded Professor Vector in a stilted manner. (A/N: Hehe – vocabulary workbooks actually __do help… I owe one to Ms. Pettet – my English teacher – for this.)_

"Yes, Professor Vector – you see, it's not entirely my fault. It just so happens that I couldn't –" Ginny began, but when she noticed that the veins in Professor Vector's neck were throbbing and his face was turning slightly purple, she gave up and sat down in the only remaining seat – the one next to her second least favorite person in the entire world.

"Ooh – Virginia's in trouble. What did the Virgin Mary do this time?" teased Mark Callaway – a brunette whose sole purpose in life was to annoy Ginny.

"Get stuffed, Callaway. I've got better things to do than listen to your shit," she said, grinning at the fact that her sudden swearing had made him very taken aback.

"Uh oh, now you're in trouble – Little Miss Weasley said a bad word!" he jeered.

Ginny gave him one of her sweetest smiles as she kicked him in the shins. Turning back around to face the professor, she gave him another smile and waved sarcastically. He ignored her completely.

_Oh, why oh why did you decide to take Arithmancy? Just because Hermione likes it doesn't mean it's easy; it usually means the opposite. (A/N: Just to let you all know Arithmancy actually is a method of fortune-telling in a way. I found this out from my friend's book (Thanks Gena…) and it's true, so I'm not making this up!)_

"Today, we will be doing something rather different. The whole of last year, we studied the phases of fortune-telling through the mathematical processes that make up Arithmancy. This year, however, we will be taking our studies to a greater depth. We will start to take the names of people we know or hold in high-esteem and apply the Arithmancical steps we have learned to decode these names and find the true qualities that these people possess. Now, each of you, choose one or two people whom we all know, and start. You may wish to reread your text before beginning, for I am quite sure that some of your knowledge will have leaked out during the summer. Now, get to work," said Professor Vector, in his usual breathy and impatient voice.

Ginny sat up a little more excited than before. Arithmancy was a way of using numbers to learn the horoscopes, fortunes, qualities, and personalities of people, places, dates, or things. It hadn't been her favorite subject last year, since all they had done was learn _about it and how to __do it rather than really going through the processes, but now that they were actually allowed to use what they had learned, her mind was full of ideas. But the one idea which she needed to start wouldn't come._

_Who the hell should I do? I've only ever tried myself before – damn that was weird. I was nothing but contradictions as far as I could tell. I didn't dare tell Mum – she would've blown her top at me. But who do I do now?_

As she thought about it, the answer came to her. Or rather, two answers came to her. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy – to her, they were two opposites and two inspirers. They were perfect.

She quickly wrote down their names on a piece of parchment and stuffed it in her pocket. She wasn't about to tell anyone exactly who she was using – nor was she going to use them for class. She was going to use them for her own purposes. On another piece of parchment, she wrote down the names Ronald Weasley and Fred/George Weasley. She reckoned that it would make more sense to use them for the actual assignment rather than the other two boys she had thought of.

_In a way, you are crazy about guys, do you know that? __Aurora__ was right after all._

Aurora Scott Matthews was Ginny's one and only friend at Hogwarts. Ginny had other friends, but none of them were as intimate as Aurora. The only down side was that whereas Ginny had signed up for Arithmancy, Aurora was in Divination; Ginny had Muggle Studies because she hated animals while Aurora took Care of Magical Creatures. And whereas Aurora hadn't wanted to take extra classes after school, Ginny had decided to take part in Advanced Defense lessons. (A/N: This _is something I'm making up – I don't think Hogwarts offers ADADA – Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts! Let's just say that people from Hermione's year and older didn't have this option because they hadn't yet found two teachers for Defense classes, okay?) Luckily, however, both Aurora and Ginny took the Study of Ancient Runes, so they were together for that class._

The two girls looked awfully alike, but where dissimilar in many ways. Aurora had a twin sister – not to mention a six-year-old sister too – whom Ginny despised, but she had no brothers. Though they were both redheads, Aurora had eyes of soft hazel and Ginny's were a startling azure blue, and over the summer, Ginny had had to get glasses. She didn't mind wearing them, for they were thin silver frames and in her opinion added to her looks. Aurora was more girlish in her mannerisms which made Ginny scornful of her at times. Aurora's hair was long and wavy, but Ginny's was short and straight – as close to a boy's as her mother would allow. Aurora was slightly like a child in many ways, and though Ginny often acted ignorant and docile, her real personality was far from that – something only Aurora knew. Ginny hated her name so much she tormented all those who liked it, yet Aurora was happy with herself the way she was and had no self-complaints whatsoever. And, while Aurora was a favorite among the boys in their year, Ginny had no luck whatsoever. But she didn't mind – except when it came to Harry – so she was able to settle for just teasing Aurora.

Forty minutes later, Ginny and Aurora were sitting together in a corner of the Defense classroom, discussing their previous classes. Aurora was the one person whom Ginny could trust with all her secrets, and vice versa. These two girls were so full of one another's mysteries that it was often very hard sometimes for them to keep all their thoughts bottled up inside, but they managed.

"Oh, gosh, Ginny, you're the only tomboy I've ever seen that's actually _crazy about guys!" squealed Aurora._

"Hush, Rory, Professor Marion'll here you. Besides, I'm not _crazy about them – I just thought I should use them for the assignment. It's not my problem if I have a wild imagination, is it?" Ginny snapped._

"But what made you choose _Malfoy? I thought you hated him?" Aurora refuted._

"I'll tell you later – I meant to talk to you about that, anyway. Meet me in the library at lunch, okay?" Ginny ordered.

"Oh, alright, but Ginsters –" Aurora pleaded, but Ginny didn't listen.

Aurora sighed and pulled her textbook towards her to read. Deciphering the hieroglyphs of the Ancient Egyptian wizards was hard – their entire hieroglyphic alphabet was a lot more complex than that of the Muggle systems. They spent the rest of the class just taking notes on what Professor Marion was dictating and decoding the messages in their books.

"Ginny, do you think we should try out this year?" Aurora started again.

"Try out for what?" Ginny asked back without looking up from her books.

"For the Quidditch team – I figured that we ought to give it a try – at least this once. There's no harm in trying, is there?" Aurora asked slowly.

Ginny looked up at her friend. She pulled off her glasses and leaned back in her chair, thinking a while. Then, she spoke.

"Is there any particular _reason why you want to try out?" Ginny asked._

To her surprise, Aurora blushed. "No, why would there be? I just thought you might want to – and if you do, I guess I could try. I just thought it would be a good change. We don't really do much anyways after school since we signed up for the easier subjects. It might be fun; you'll never know till you try it."

"Rory, I already take Advanced Defense. I don't have time for Quidditch," Ginny said, sighing and turning back to her work.

"But Harry and Draco play Quidditch," Aurora teased.

"Aurora Scott Matthews, I'm not about to waste my time on some stupid sport just because two _boys play it!" Ginny screamed._

Aurora sat stunned in her seat. Ginny had never yelled at her before. Sure, they had argued in the past uncountable times, but the arguments had never before been settled in this manner. Ginny's voice had risen to such a level that the whole class had turned around to look at her. Even Professor Marion was looking at her with wide eyes.

 "Miss Weasley, unless you have any plans of apologizing, I request that you please leave this classroom at once," he said.

Ginny, with her mind throbbing, picked up her bag and walked out. She didn't know what had come over her to yell at Aurora like that, but at the same time, as she walked back to the Common Room, she realized that Aurora had in a way been provoking her.

_Why the hell does __Aurora__ want to try out for Quidditch, anyway? She's never asked before, and she can always go and play herself even if I'm not. She's such a little kid, still – she always has to depend on me._

Ginny dragged herself into the Common Room. Fortunately, the Fat Lady had apparently forgotten about the events of the previous night and didn't mention anything.

Ginny walked up to her dorm and flopped down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling for a long time, just thinking and sighing. She wasn't sure how long she was lying there but after a while, Aurora walked in.

"Ginny, are you alright?"

"Did you know that there are more than four-hundred and fifty-three of those little flowers on the wallpaper on the ceiling? And those are just the flowers inside the little square thing that this four-poster makes," Ginny said sardonically.

"Ginny, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. Something's wrong with you," she answered, sitting up.

"What's wrong with me?" Aurora asked calmly. She may not have been used to Ginny yelling at her, but she was more or less accustomed to Ginny's variant moods.

"I don't know. I was hoping that you could tell me. Since when have you been interested in Quidditch?"

"I thought you were the one interested in it. I guess I was wrong. And I'm sorry if I made you upset this morning."

"What do you mean this morning?" Ginny asked, slightly confused.

"You dope, it's two in the afternoon already! Didn't you know? I looked for you in the library but you weren't there, and after that I had to go for Care of Magical Creatures, so obviously I didn't expect you to be there. We have a free class now – or, I do anyway. You're supposed to be in Defense," Aurora said, smiling.

"Oh shit, I really need to get a watch," Ginny said, shaking her head. She picked up her stuff from where she had thrown it on the floor and rushed out of the dorms and down the stairs to the main halls.

Aurora shook her head after her. "The day she's on time to a class is the day I tell her the truth about something, for a change."

*

"I – I'm not late, am I?" Ginny wailed as she approached the Defense classroom. The fifth years were filing out slowly.

"Ah, Miss Virginia Weasley, what a nice surprise," said the man.

Ginny's jaw dropped. She blinked hard a number of times. She couldn't help it – this had got to have been one of the hottest men on the planet. And here he was, taking her Advanced Defense class – it was a pity she wasn't the only one who had signed up for it.

"I – uh – I –" she started. It was hopeless. She was too shocked to say anything. If she hadn't been, she probably would have noticed that the others in the classroom were sneering at her.

"Well, take a seat, Virginia. And no, you're not late, by the way. Though you might want to come in a couple of minutes earlier, next time, hmm?" he said.

Ginny was about to walk in when a fifth year who was walking out knocked her shoulder.

"Watch where you're going, will you?" she snapped.

The boy whirled around, with an eyebrow raised at her. She gasped. It was Draco. Two days in a row – something was definitely wrong. Why did she keep bumping into him, of all people – literally? If she hadn't been so burdened with her thoughts, she would have realized that he was looking at her with surprise too.

"Well, if it isn't Miss I'm-telling-my-brother-on-you Weasley," he smirked.

"I didn't expect you to make that recognition," she sneered back.

"Yes, well, I have, so there's no point in talking about it, is there?"

"No, I suppose not. I just like getting on your nerves," Ginny said, glaring.

"You don't suppose that a little brat like you could possibly make _me waste my time, do you?" he said, glaring back._

"Well, if I'm 'a little brat', and you're not wasting your time right now, I'm guessing you enjoy talking to me – even if you have a class to go to?" Ginny said. Now it was her turn to smirk.

"You just wait. I'll get you one of these days. You and your pigsty of a family – and all those uncouth absurdities you call friends –"

In a second, Ginny was glaring at him, her face slightly pink with frustration, and Draco was rubbing his cheek, which was a bright red.

"What on earth did you do that for?" Draco asked her, still stunned that she had attempted to slap him – and done it.

"I think you know the answer to that, _Draco," she said, still glaring. She turned on her heel and walked defiantly into the classroom, leaving both Draco and the professor shocked. She slammed the door behind her, leaving Draco staring at the door. After a couple of seconds, he walked off, picking up his books from where they had fallen when she had slapped him._

"Those Weasleys…"

Inside the classroom, Ginny sat down in the front row seat, next to a girl from Ravenclaw that she didn't know. She didn't much want to find out; for she was far more interested in finding out exactly who the professor was at the moment. Luckily for her, the other girl didn't have a chance to introduce herself at the moment.

"Well, I'm sure by now we all know Miss Virginia, but I'm afraid that not all of us know the rest of you. If you'll all please say a couple of lines about yourself when I call roll, it'll be a help for all of us to know a little about everyone. By the way, I'm Professor Michael Hornsby. I'll be your Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts until and unless you wish to drop this subject. Now, let's start."

_Professor Michael Hornsby – Mike Hornsby – he sounds American. Well, that would explain his accent. I wonder why we got a new professor this year. I'm not complaining – this guy is definitely way more interesting than Professor Jorgen was last year, but – I don't know. We were never told that we were getting a new professor, were we? I don't know. At least Professor Jorgen seemed__ like a teacher. This guy's too – good looking – to be a professor._

Ginny was the last person on the list. When she got up, she flashed the professor one of her thousand-pound smiles. (A/N: Get it – million-dollar smile – thousand-pound smile, ha – I'm a genius, I know.) To her surprise, he smiled back. He had a smile that reminded her of Gilderoy Lockhart – and for some reason, she liked him even more for it.

"I'm Virginia Weasley – but I _prefer to be called Ginny, if you __don't mind. Um, I – I hate Potions and Slytherins no matter __what you may think, but it doesn't mean I'm about to play Quidditch for the Gryffindor team. I'm not __that patriotic – or whatever. And whatever you do, be careful what you say around me, or you may just hate yourself for it," she said in a rush, shrugging her shoulders as she finished and sat down._

"Well, now, what a vivid imagination this young girl has," the professor laughed.

"I'm not _young and I don't have an imagination. Well, maybe I do, but I say what I think and nothing else. If you don't believe me, well, that's your problem," she said. Ginny had no clue whatsoever as to what she was doing, but she didn't quite care. She had never talked back to a teacher before, at least never intentionally, but here she was nearly arguing with him. Slowly, her appreciation for this man was deteriorating. He was irritating to her, not fascinating. And he didn't understand her. She hated people who didn't understand her – which basically meant that the only person she didn't hate was Aurora – and, of course, her brothers, Harry, and Hermione._

"Uh – right, well, that's all of you, I suppose. Let's go on, then, shall we?" he said as calmly as ever.

Ginny sighed. Advanced Defense wasn't quite what she thought it would have been. She sighed again. Last year had been awesome. They had done all sorts of stuff – interesting stuff. Ginny was interested in Defense. Her whole obsession with Harry had made her want to be an Auror. And then, of course, was Mad-Eye Moody, last year's Defense professor. He _had been an Auror. She wouldn't look back now._

"Um, sorry to interrupt, Professor – uh – Hornsby, but, I was just wondering if you knew who was teaching the _normal Defense classes," Ginny asked sweetly, and smiling at him. __Jeez, if I try and keep this up for another five minutes I'm going to blow – literally._

"Ah, let's see now. I do believe Professor Dumbledore mentioned the name to me at some point in time. Now, who was it again? I do believe he's taught you before – Professor Lapin? No – it's a Professor Lupin – that's who it is," he answered. After answering, he immediately turned back to the class and started lecturing again.

_Professor Lupin – why's he teaching again? I'm not arguing against it – he was cool too, but – I thought he was fired or something? No, he was resigning. That's it – because he was a werewolf. Then why has he come back? It's not because of – oh no, that's it – Harry…_

Ginny groaned loudly. Unluckily for her, she hadn't been paying attention to what Professor Hornsby had been saying, or she would have been able to save herself.

"Well, Miss Weasley, I would have thought something of this nature would have pleased you. Apparently I was mistaken. Now, tell me – what is so disturbing to you that you have to disrupt the class in this manner?" he asked stiffly.

"Oh, I was just – I wasn't really _complaining about – um – what we were talking about, I was just –"_

"Professor Hornsby isn't class over?" whined the Ravenclaw next to her.

He looked quickly at his watch, and sighed. "I'm afraid so. Thank you, Miss Johnson, for reminding me. Well, I'll see you all on Thursday," he said, grinning around at them all and walking out.

Ginny let out a sigh again, this time of relief. She looked at the blonde next to her and gave her a thin smile. She didn't want to admit it, but the Ravenclaw had saved her from getting into trouble on the first day of school.

"Um, thanks, I guess…" Ginny muttered. She got up and started grabbing her stuff.

"You're welcome. I'm Jackie by the way – Jackie Johnson. I'm Angelina's sister," she said, smiling.

"Angelina – do you mean as in the Chaser Angelina – in Gryffindor?" Ginny asked, suddenly interested.

"Yeah, she's my sister. She's Quidditch Captain this year. She was so excited when she found out!" Jackie said, grinning happily. Apparently, there was no such thing as sibling rivalry in the Johnson family. Jackie seemed only too happy to share in her elder sister's pride and joy.

"Oh, your sister's Captain this year? Do you know what she's doing for tryouts?" Ginny asked slowly.

_Maybe it won't hurt to tryout – Rory did have a point. I may be able to do something fun. But I'm not doing it because of Harry and Draco – that's one thing Rory has to get clear first._

"I'm not sure. She didn't tell me because I'm in Ravenclaw," she answered, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'd better be going," Ginny said. She walked out before Jackie started talking again. Ginny walked back to her dorm slowly, thinking carefully.

So, Professor Lupin had come back to Hogwarts. He was teaching again, even though he was a werewolf. Angelina Johnson was the new Quidditch Captain. Her younger sister was in Ginny's Advanced Defense class. Rory was keeping something from her – something related to Quidditch.

And most importantly, what was it with Draco Malfoy? Why was she running into him all over the place? Well, no, she wasn't running into him _all over the place. It had only happened twice so far. But meeting up with Draco Malfoy twice in two days was twice too much._

"Not _you again…" came a sneering voice from behind her._

Ginny groaned, turned around, and put her hands on her hips. She rolled her eyes at the boy and said, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course, I do. Who wouldn't have a problem with Mudblood-loving filth like you in such a school?" Malfoy scoffed.

Ginny was about to walk up to him and slap him again, but using his reflexes, he ducked just in time. Instead, she kicked him in the shins.

"Ow, you bloody git, you need to control that short temper of yours!" he yelled.

Ginny was about to answer, but she was cut off by someone _else. Someone was calling her name. And that someone didn't sound too happy._

"Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy – come with me please," called Professor McGonagall. Her lips were pressed tightly together and she was peering down at them through her glasses with a malevolent look.

Both Ginny and Draco groaned. It was one thing to get into trouble; but it was quite another to have gotten into trouble with your brother's archenemy – or in Draco's case, his archenemy's best-friend's sister.

_Life stinks – with Draco._

*

"Ginny, that's not the point!" a hassled Ron Weasley said.

"Yes, it is! McGonagall's a fat old lady who's gone off her rocker! That's why she gave _me a detention too! I wasn't the one who was swearing!" Ginny shouted back, sitting down in an armchair with a huff._

They were back in the Gryffindor Common Room. Ron, being a prefect, had heard from Hermione – who, in turn had heard from McGonagall – that Ginny had gotten a detention – with Malfoy. It was a sign of how much all three of them – Hermione, ron, and Ginny – hated the Malfoys that Ginny put all the blame on him while Ron and Hermione were torn between lecturing Ginny and congratulating her for getting Malfoy into trouble. What the four of them, however – Malfoy included – did not know, was that this was soon going to change – and sooner than anyone would have expected.

*

A/N: That's all, folks – so please review!


	3. Harry, Ron, and Hermione

*

"Here's the info about your detention," Hermione said stiffly, as she handed Ginny a small slip of paper.

They were in the Great Hall, eating breakfast. Ron and Harry were in a deep discussion at the end of the table with Fred and George Weasley about Quidditch. Ginny was sitting on her own; Aurora had finished breakfast earlier and was supposedly in the library studying.

Hermione turned on her heel and walk away before Ginny had a chance to think of a good comeback. Ginny scowled at her and looked down at the paper. If possible, her face got darker and her scowl more pronounced as she read it.

_Great, just great – now I'm stuck in detention__ with him too… As if running into him nearly everyday wasn't enough. And, to make matters worse, our detention is with Snape. This is all just great – just snazzy – perfect._

Ginny was sure that her mood wouldn't possibly get any worse. But she was wrong. As if on cue, Draco came sauntering past, smirking at her. She glared at him, but he remained indifferent, sneering at her as usual.

"So, Little Miss Kick-Everyone-In-The-Shins has to go to detention. How sad…" he hissed at her.

"As if you didn't – you little –"

"Oh, my dear little – girl, I suggest you keep your temper to yourself, lest you get another detention."

"Shut your trap, already."

"Well, seeing that we both have to put up with one another for an hour tonight, why not get to know each other a little better?" he asked her, an evil glint in his eyes.

"What do you want?" Ginny spat.

"Nothing – just want to talk."

"What is _wrong with you?" Ginny said, shaking her head with disbelief._

"I just –"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ron said, spotting Draco talking to Ginny.

"I'm doing much better than you, Weasley. But, of course, you probably can't tell," he refuted.

"Get the hell out of here," Harry said through gritted teeth as he came up behind Ron.

"Fine then, I can tell if I'm not wanted. It isn't often it actually _happens, but what can a person do when trying to reach the – ah – the less intelligent among us?" Draco said._

He turned around and walked away, but not until he had given each of the three a penetrating glare. Almost immediately, Ron rounded on Ginny. His eyes were blazing as he opened his mouth to speak, but Ginny was saved as the mail arrived.

As the owls soared above them, Ginny sank back in her seat, full of relief. She didn't know why her brother had changed so much over the summer. All she knew was that he and eventually, Harry – once Sirius gave him permission – had gone to Hermione's house over the summer, and all three of them had become slightly different.

She looked up at her brother as he caught his owl as it soared into his arms, with a letter clasped in its beak. Ron seemed very pleased about something as he read through the letter, which he then passed on to Harry, who also read it with a smile on his face. Ginny tried to slip out of the Great Hall while they were dwelling on whatever happy thoughts the letter had given them, but Ron was too quick for her.

"And where do you think you're going, Ginny?" Ron said, putting his hands on his hips in a way that made him look remarkably like Mrs. Weasley.

"It looks like Fred and George were right about you, Ron. Well, what do you know? We do have another perfect prefect in the family," she said to him.

Then she turned away too. She walked out of the Great Hall silently. She waited for Ron and Harry to walk up to her and yell at her again. She half-wanted them to do that, and to scold her and shout at her and embarrass her in front of the entire school. She wanted them to talk to her and ask her what was wrong with her and why she had been acting so different and so – well – bitchy.

But neither one of them made a move. They just stood there, watching her go out of the Hall. Neither one of them knew what to say, so they just finished their breakfast in silence. A few minutes later, however, Hermione came with a big smile on her face, and both Ron and Harry looked up at her, eager to tell her the good news that had come in the letter.

"Dumbledore said yes!" Ron said, thrusting the letter into her hard.

"I still don't know how you persuaded all of them to even think of something like that," Harry said, scratching his head.

"Well, I'm glad," Hermione said, flashing him a smile full of her shiny white teeth.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her and said slowly, "Are you glad that Dumbledore agreed or are you glad that I don't know what you two did to make him agree?"

Ron laughed and Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes. Harry was still slightly confused, but he didn't dwell on that much. Angelina Johnson was standing two feet away from the trio, waiting to speak to Harry.

"Uh, did you want something?" Harry said politely.

"The tryouts are today," she said simply.

"Tryouts – what tryouts?" he asked, innocently puzzled.

"Well, we have an open spot on the team. We don't have a Keeper. So we're holding tryouts to fill in that spot. We've had a full team ever since you joined four years ago, so we haven't needed one. But we do now," Angelina said.

Harry looked up at her. She was a seventh year this year, and he knew that Wood was the one who had asked her to take over as being Quidditch Captain after him. She was easily the most experienced on the team besides the Weasley twins, but everyone knew that neither one of them would ever accept leadership on their own. It was either both of them or neither one. Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet, the other two Chasers, had only been on the team from their third year onward, so they had joined more or less along with Harry.

Angelina had agreed to be Captain, but Harry saw in her eyes that she was only doing it as a favor to the rest of the team. She didn't want to be Captain any more than she wanted to be a Slytherin.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Harry asked.

"You're a fifth year, and I know you're going to busy what with the OWLs and everything else, but I was just wondering if you could try and –"

"Round up everyone who's interested in being a Keeper?" he finished for her.

"Will you? I know second years are allowed to join the team, but being a Keeper needs a more advanced player, and someone who is a lot more accustomed to Hogwarts. So, I was thinking along the lines of a third year or a fourth year – maybe even another fifth year. What about that Weasley you're friends with? What's he like on a broom?" she asked.

"Well, let's just say the first time he tried to pick one up it hit him in the face…" Harry muttered.

"Well, what about the third year – his sister? Look, Harry, you're probably thinking I'm trying to be selective or biased or whatever the hell it is you're thinking, but I'm going by what I've seen. I joined the team in my second year, and that time, Charlie Weasley was the legend of Gryffindor Quidditch. He had been the Captain and the Seeker. But he had left five years before. But they say he was amazing.

"Now, look at Fred and George. They're the best Beaters any team's ever seen. Even Bill Weasley, he was a seventh year when I was a first year. He wasn't officially on the team but he was a reserve for a Chaser. And he kicked butt whenever he got a chance to play. He would've been a proper Chaser if he hadn't a prefect or Head Boy. He got caught up a bit much in his studies.

"Now, Harry, you tell me, do I have any reason to think that Ginny Weasley _isn't the Keeper we're looking for? That family's got talent, Harry. And I'm not about to let it go if it's going to help us win."_

"Okay, An – I mean, Johnson," Harry said – momentarily forgetting that it was customary to call the Captains by their last name, no matter how friendly you were with them. "I can't promise anything, though. I used to think she was a little docile, tongue-tied little girl, but it looks like that she's exactly the opposite. I look like the shy one, now."

"Well, you'd – oh, we've got to go. Class starts any minute now. If you don't get her, look for _someone. I'm counting on you, Harry," she said, as she picked up her bag and walked off with Katie and Alicia, who had been waiting for her a few feet away._

"What was that all about?" Ron asked as Harry met up with them.

"How's your sister when it comes to Quidditch?" Harry asked slowly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ron said, ignoring the look Hermione was giving him.

"It means exactly what it sounds like. What've we got first?"

"We have Transfiguration. Come on, we're _going to be late! I reckon McGonagall will be making an announcement about the dance today," Hermione said, pulling both of their arms._

"Dance – is that what the whole thing with Dumbledore was about? Since when have you two been interested in dancing? I never knew about this whole dance," Harry said.

"Oh, shut it, will you? I never knew one person to talk so much when they wanted to ask a simple question," Ron said, giving him a shove in the back.

"Ron, Harry, hurry _up, already!"_

"We're coming."

*

A/N: Okay, rather uneventful, I know, but this is just the beginning, so no need to worry! Please read and review!


	4. Plans and Detentions

*

"Crabbe, Goyle, what took you two so long? I need to ask you two something, believe it or not," Draco scowled, as he caught them walking in through the trapdoor and into the Slytherin Common Room.

It didn't seem to surprise him in the least when he saw that both of them together had enough crumbs on their faces to make up an entire piece of toast, and that there were orange stains on Goyle's robes where he had spilled pumpkin juice on it. Draco shook his head at them and dragged them by their ties over to the green, leather couch. He pushed them both down and stood with his legs slightly apart in front of them, and crossed his arms over his chest in an intimidating manner. He glared at both of them, making them cower. It was quite a strange sight, seeing as both Crabbe and Goyle were easily two feet taller and wider than Draco.

"W – What happened?" Crabbe stuttered.

"Yeah, w – what did w – we do?" Goyle put in.

"You two did nothing! At least, let me say what I want to say!" Draco said, rolling his eyes and sitting down in the green armchair across from them.

"Um – sure…"

"Well – I'm not sure how to say this, but Parkinson – well – she thinks I – she thinks I like her – and obviously I don't. Can you even imagine _thinking of liking a little git like that? And, well, she – she likes me – and – I – can you guys think of something – anything to say to her to tell her I detest having to even think of being in her presence? Except, in a nicer way – or maybe I could do something that'll make it understood… Do you think she'd be able to take a hint like that? Jeez, why do __I have to put up with all the girls? Just because __I'm popular and __I'm the handsome one – doesn't mean it has to be me!" Draco said, kicking the table._

Goyle smiled. It wasn't something one saw often, so this time, Draco _was surprised. Crabbe actually laughed. It wasn't a deep, hollow laugh like one would expect from someone like him. Instead, it was a short – giggle, almost. It was rather unbecoming of a Slytherin fifth year, but Draco waved it off. He had bigger Kappas to kill…_

"So, advise me already!" he said, prodding them to make them shut up.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Goyle asked.

"You git, that's what I'm asking you to tell me!"

"Well, you could always just tell her the truth," Crabbe said hesitantly.

Draco slumped back down in the chair. He sighed deeply and stared at the bronze snake ornament on the glass table next to his armchair. It seemed to remind him of something, for he suddenly clapped his palm to his forehead and jumped up again.

"I won't tell her the truth! Well, I suppose I will, but I'll lie too – but – it'll be hard… It'll be difficult and unpleasant – but it'll work!" he said, his blue eyes glinting.

There was a look in them that neither Crabbe nor Goyle had seen before. Draco shook his head swiftly and regained his composure and his professional manner as he spoke again.

"Crabbe, Goyle, what do you suppose her reaction would be if I told her that I was – that I liked someone else – namely a girl in another house? And what if I got that girl to like me _back?" he said, his mouth twisting into a wicked smile._

"She would go berserk on you. And, well, she'd probably tell the rest of Slytherin, and pretty soon the whole school would know that you liked a – a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw or a – a _Gryffindor…" Crabbe said wisely._

"Hmm, you're right, Crabbe – for a change. My reputation would, no doubt, be tarnished by that little white lie. I have to think of something better," Draco said, as he started to pace the room.

"But, well, you could always tell the rest of Slytherin that it's meant as a joke. And, well, you know the reputation that Slytherin _itself has. I should think that the girl would be thought of as a – a disgrace, more than you yourself. It's not as though anyone in other houses like you much anyway…" Goyle ranted, but as soon as he spoke he clapped his hand to his mouth, wishing he hadn't said such a thing at all._

Draco rounded on him and gave him a funny look. Goyle shut his eyes and leaned back, wishing he had never said a thing. He was just praying that Draco would think of a less painful way of killing him when something amazing happened. Draco actually complimented him.

"Goyle, you're brilliant. Well, perhaps not brilliant – you aren't nearly as gifted as I am, but nevertheless – it's a plan worth carrying out. But what unsuspecting female shall I use?" he said, going back to his pacing.

"Well, you should use one that is in Gryffindor. She might be harder to – to entice, but if you succeed – I mean, _when you succeed, it'll have a bigger impact on everyone," Crabbe suggested._

"You should think of a girl whom you really _hate, so that you could really hurt her, or else, someone who is close to someone whom you hate, or maybe even someone who is popular, or something like that, so that everyone who knows that girl would turn on her," Goyle added, shrugging his shoulders._

"Or, maybe, I should use the Weasley girl, seeing as she already was the one who was said to have opened the Chamber of Secrets, a member of the Weasley family which everyone knows I detest, and also, might I add a worshipper of the famous Harry Potter?" Draco said, his smile turning into a malicious grin, and the glint in his eyes growing brighter.

"But how'll you make her like you back? And technically, how will you let her know that you like her?" Goyle asked.

"Well, I've got a detention with her tonight. I can start the – um – the process then. And, well, beyond that, I have ways of planning more detentions. I'm sure Professor Snape will be more than happy to get her into trouble. I'll just have to find a way to get myself into trouble to – and somehow at the same time…"

"Ginny Weasley, though, she's a fourth year – and you don't even know her that well. How are you going to make it seem – how'll she think you're telling the truth when you say you – um – like her?" Crabbe asked.

"Really, now, since when were you two so talkative?" Draco remarked, bringing both Crabbe and Goyle down back to their original lowly positions with a nasty bump.

"Sorry…"

"You had better be. But, to make up, why don't you bring little Pansy Parkinson to me, and then spread the word to everyone else in Slytherin about the great plan that I have thought up? No, don't tell them what I've decided to do. You're bound to twist my words with your foolish words. Tell them that there is to be a Slytherin meeting tomorrow morning at six, down in one of the empty dungeons that Professor Snape no longer uses for classes. They'll know which one I'm talking about. But first, tell Parkinson to meet me near the broomshed at eleven tonight. I've got a surprise for her…"

*

"Stupid Malfoy and his stupid brain and his stupid words and his stupid blonde hair and his stupid blue eyes and his stupid family and his stupid evil grin – if it weren't for him I wouldn't have been in this stupid mess… Hmm – strange how the words Malfoy and mess and malign and mean all start with an 'M'. Then again, perhaps it _isn't strange. It isn't surprising to see that the adjective 'stupid' can describe so many words – mainly those related to stupid Draco Malfoy and his stupid little bodyguards, stupid Crabbe and stupid Goyle…"_

Ginny was muttering to herself as she dragged her feet down all the twisted hallways and staircases to Professor McGonagall's office. It was the time of her detention, and she had never dreaded something more than this. As she reached out her hand for the door knob of her office, she felt a shiver down her back. She dismissed it, but soon, she saw a pale hand on top of hers. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at its owner, snatching her own hand away.

Draco Malfoy was staring down at her out of his blue eyes, and for once in his life, he was smiling at her. It wasn't the kind of smiles she usually saw on his face – those of hatred, or the evil grins that usually followed his nasty, sneering remarks about her crush on Harry, or the familiar smirks that she saw on his face after the statements he made about Hermione and her 'Mudblood-ness'. This smile, however, was different. It changed his face completely. It made him look almost – kind.

Ginny shuddered at the thought. She shut her mouth as soon as she realized how awkward she must have looked after her jaw dropped on the sight of Draco smiling. She scowled at him.

_Scowl, sneer, and smirk – they all start with an 'S', just like Slytherin and snake and stupid. And smile…_

Ginny shook her head again, trying desperately to get such thoughts out of her head. She glared at Draco again, and was pleased to see that he had given up on smiling. It certainly wasn't the easiest thing for him to do.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" he asked softly.

_Give up the nice thing, already. It's making me think that I'm__ delusional._

Ginny grabbed the handle and pushed the door open before Draco could say anything else. Professor McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, with her glasses placed precariously on the edge of her nose, grading some papers. Ginny strained her eyes and saw, with relief, that they had been written by some first years.

"Yes, Miss Weasley – ah, Mr. Malfoy, you two have come for your detention, have you not? Well, Mr. Malfoy, you are having detention with Professor Sprout, tonight. I do believe that she requested you to be in Greenhouse Five by nine o'clock, so I suggest you run. Miss Weasley, Professor Lupin had asked for you to help him in his office. I hope I am not mistaken in saying that you know where the office for the Defense professors is?" she said, staring at them both over her glasses.

"Um, I'll get going then…" Malfoy muttered.

Ginny was pleased to see that he was finally frowning at them all. She wasn't sure why. She just hoped it wasn't because they were serving their detentions separately. She was happy to learn of that, and she couldn't see any reason for him to be upset.

"Um, Professor McGonagall, did you mean Professor Lupin or Professor Hornsby?" Ginny asked slowly.

"Professor Lupin, of course, didn't you know he was back? Oh, but, of course, you're one of those who signed up for Advanced Defense classes, didn't you? Well, yes, Professor Lupin is back, owing to the – circumstances of what had happened last year. He actually talked to Dumbledore to ask if he could get his job back… Oh, but enough of that, you have a detention to go to! And, might I add, don't look upon yourself as lucky, Miss Weasley.   
You are in detention, and if my memory is correct, Professor Lupin doesn't take the word detention lightly at all…"

Ginny smiled weakly and walked out, shutting the door behind her. She gulped at the thought of what Professor Lupin might have in store for her, but then, with a smile, she thought of how happy Ron, Hermione, and Harry would be when they knew.

_Oh, but they probably already know – unless – well – maybe they don't know. If they had known, they probably would have been talking about it. And he wasn't at the Professors' Table for the Welcome Feast in the Great Hall… I suppose he must have come late. Oh, I hope I'll be the first to tell them!_

With similar thoughts in mind, Ginny rushed down the halls until she had reached his office. Panting just slightly, she put her hand on the door knob, and, sending all thoughts of Draco Malfoy out of her mind completely; she opened the door and walked in. She couldn't help but smile. There was a fish tank on the window sill, a briefcase on the desk, and an Augurey in a golden cage on the floor in a corner. Somewhere behind the desk, Ginny could hear Professor Lupin scuffling about, rummaging through some papers.

"Professor Lupin, is that you? It's me, Ginny Weasley. Professor McGonagall told me that I – that I had detention with you."

He stood up and looked at her for a moment, his sandy hair with its few silver streaks all on end from lack of maintenance. He smiled at her, and Ginny could do nothing more than grin back. Then, she wasn't sure why, but she ran forward and flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Professor Lupin, though taken slightly back, stroked her fiery hair affectionately.

"It's good to see you again, Miss Weasley."

"It's great to have you back, Professor Lupin. Ron's going to be so surprised! And Hermione's going to just love having you back! Oh, and Harry –"

"I know, Ginny. I know. And I daresay you know why I've come back, too, hmm?" he asked, pulling away from her.

"Sir, is it because – oh, no… I thought Mum and Dad were only joking. You don't mean that – oh, it's like – oh, my dream!" Ginny squealed, biting her nails and backing up against the wall.

"Ginny, what are you talking about – what – dream?" Professor Lupin asked her, going down to his knees so that he could look straight into her eyes.

Ginny looked back. She gulped once more. She didn't know where to begin. But begin she had to – somewhere – sometime – that much she did know for sure.

*


	5. Issues and Arguments

A/N: Okay, so you're all probably going to kill me, if there are any of you left (*snort*) but it's not my fault I haven't gotten to write or update or write or – err… just don't kill me, okay? Oy, and who else thought that the whole scene of Snape's childhood with Lily and James and Sirius and all in it was just a tad bit too fic-y? It seriously freaked me out… it was a lot like fics I'd read (sadly not like anything I've written…*tear*) which made me think that either all the fanfic writers here are abnormally good at writing and guessing, or J.K. is losing her touch… By the way, I meant in OoP. No, I am not going crazy…

*

"So how'd the detention go?" Aurora asked, looking up at her best friend as she walked through the door.

"Don't ask… Or if you do, let me ask you something first… can I ask you something?" Ginny asked, looking about her a bit unsurely as she shut the door behind her.

"Assuming that that wasn't the only question you had in mind, I'm guessing I haven't got much of a choice, eh?" the girl asked with a sigh as she shut the book she had been reading.

Ginny shot Aurora a glare before jumping onto her friend's bed, making Aurora sit up with a squeal to avoid being squashed.

"I'll take that as a yes. What do you think about the Halloween dance Ron and Hermione were going to suggest at their next prefect meeting?" she asked in one breath, trying to sound as indifferent as possible.

"What dance…?"

"The _dance!" she repeated, "Halloween – Masquerade – thingy!"_

Aurora grinned, saying, "Oh, and why do _you care so much, eh?"_

"I don't," Ginny answered calmly, though a bit too quickly. "I just wanted to know what you thought.

"What do I think? I don't really care. I'll probably just go with…" she trailed off.

"Colin Creevey!" Ginny shrieked, and burst into a childish fit of giggles at the look of repulsion on her friend's face.

"Hell, no! Ugh, that's disgusting… You know, for a tomboy, you certainly have a very girlish way of laughing, at times. Either way, who would you go with? No one's ever asked you anything like that except Neville."

Ginny turned red, whether from embarrassment or anger Aurora couldn't tell. She nodded at her, refraining from commenting on how her face was very nearly the color of her hair.

"I am NOT going with Neville. Duh. I'm just… not going."

"Oh, honey…" Aurora soothed, ignoring Ginny's disgust at the word, "just because you don't think you can get Harry?"

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HARRY, DAMN IT!" Ginny yelled, jumping off the bed.

"Erm… Ginny, what is this about?"

Ginny took a deep breath to calm down, before collapsing on her own bed with a groan.

"I really don't know. I'm sure there was something I had in mind. I've only just forgotten it." She sighed. "Maybe I really would be a good match for Neville…"

"Ginny, really now…"

"Really now what –"

"Ginny, I don't think you ever quite said exactly _what_ and _how you… err… feel for Harry?" she asked cautiously._

"Shut up about him already…" Ginny said with yet another groan as she hid under the covers, burying her face in the pillow.

Aurora shrugged, putting away her book as she too slipped into bed, hearing a much muffled 'Good Night' as she switched off her reading lamp.

*

Ron was pacing the Gryffindor Common Room in front of the fireplace. The hem of his robes twitched every time he turned, making Hermione finally reprimand him.

"Really, Ron, your robes are going to catch any second1 _Please_ stop pacing like that. You'll wear a hole in the carpet in a moment."

Ron scowled at her, nevertheless doing as he was told. If he didn't know any better, he'd say being made prefect had made Hermione bossier than ever. Then again, maybe he did know better, and she still was bossier. He wouldn't put it past her.

"Yeah, yeah… Damn it, where's Harry? He should have finished practice by now…"

"He probably stayed after. You know him. Or else maybe he's in the library or some such thing…" Hermione suggested with a shrug.

"Wishful thinking," Ron snorted. "But sure, any reason's better than none."

"Are you – worried…?" Hermione asked as Ron started pacing again.

"No… maybe… not really… Oh, I suppose so." He mumbled with a shrug.

Hermione raised an eyebrow as her nose twitched in annoyance. It was rather a thing of hers lately, as Ron had now noticed. At least now he had a warning if he was crossing into the danger zone.

"So that's a yes, then?"

"Eh, sure, whatever you want it to be… Can we just get back to History of Magic already?" he asked, sighing exasperatedly as he finally sat down in the great red armchair, much to Hermione's relief.

"I thought I'd never see the day…" she said with a smile as she rolled her eyes.

At that moment, the portrait hole opened. Ron instinctively looked up, expecting to see Harry emerge any second. Instead, it was the twins.

"Hallo, what are you two doing?" Fred asked, running a hand through his wet, red hair.

"You two are soaked through!" Hermione observed.

"Thanks, we noticed," George said shortly.

"To answer your question, we're studying, believe it or not."

"Why?" the twins asked in unison.

"I mean, haven't you anything better to do?" Fred continued with a wink.

"Hermione glared and chucked her copy of _A History of Magic_ at him as she got to her feet .She mumbled a quick goodnight to Ron, and muttering something about how sleazy seventeen-year-old boys could be, she climbed up the stairs to her dorm. Downstairs, the three boys heard the final slam of the door. Immediately, George took her vacated seat and leaned forward to speak.

"Okay, now that she's gone, why aren't you –"

"Or why _weren't you rather –" Fred cut in._

"Down at the pitch, like, an hour ago?" George continued.

Ron simply blinked at the two of them. Fred waved a hand in front of his face, making him flinch.

"Pitch? The Quidditch Pitch? Err, maybe because – well, news flash! – _I'm not on the team_! And I never have been. What's wrong with you two?"

"You are now," Fred stated with a shrug, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Well, probably. We need a Keeper. It's either you or, well…"

"_ME? On the team? You're joking, right?"_

 George shook his head. "Nope, no joke. Not this time, anyhow. You're not _necessarily_ on the team, though. You or Ginny, anyway…"

"Right, something about Weasleys having it in their blood to play Quidditch, according to Angelina…" Fred said with a hint of skepticism.

Ron blinked again, this time accompanying it with a scratch of his head. He opened his mouth to speak, and then shut it again.

"Hurry up and say what it is you have to say and then we're dragging you down there whether you like it or not."

"I'm the one who got hit in the face with the broomstick on my first attempt at flying, first year. And you want _me_ to be your Keeper."

"We don't, you git. Angelina does. She's captain. She calls the shots." George said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Well, unless Harry does instead… He's pretty much the co-captain…" Fred added, not without a mild note of disapproval in his voice.

"And I didn't know all this – why, exactly?"

"Harry was meant to tell you right before practice. No one else was meant to know. And Ginny was to come down next practice. Y'know, to see who was better. Harry didn't really want you both there together. In fact I don't think –" Fred paused, glancing at George.

"No, he wasn't meant to know about Ginny. No matter – he would have eventually… it's not like he's got any talent. It's only because of Angel –"

"I think I'm experiencing a brain overload," Ron interrupted with a groan. "My brain certainly hurts…"

"Well if that's all you've got to say…"

"I'm not going, George," Ron said sharply.

Both pairs of twin blue eyes widened. Fred grabbed Ron's arm, yanking him to his feet. George stood too, smacking his younger brother upside the head as he did so, smirking in satisfaction at the volume of Ron's yelp of surprise.

"Are you crazy?" George exclaimed.

Ron merely shrugged. He began gathering together his books, walking past the twins to pick up Hermione's textbook from where it lay on the floor. By now, there was no one else left in the room. All three Weasleys were secretly thankful.

"Maybe, or maybe I'm just tired. It's too late to practice out in the rain… and the dark…" he said blankly. _That and I don't much want to join the team, he thought._

"I think you're spending too much time with Hermione. You're starting to sound creepily like her."

"Shut it, Fred."

"Why is everything my fault?" he asked scowling.

"What's your fault?"

The three redheads turned towards the voice at the portrait hole.

"Harry, what took you so long?" George questioned.

"Angelina…" Harry grumbled in reply. "And waiting for you, too, by the way... I had half a mind to come up and get Ginny instead of waiting for you, and so I wouldn't have to listen to Angelina taking it all out on me."

"Look, Harry, I can't be on the team," Ron began, before either of the twins could cut in. "I'll – I'll – I'll ruin your chances of a winning streak as far as the Cup goes."

"Ron, give it a rest. I don't have time to discuss this now… sorry. Angelina's taken care of that."

And with that, Harry ran up the stairs, going two at a time as was a new thing of his, to the fifth year boys' dorm. Ron shook his head, shrugging at the twins before following his friend up.

"Fifth years have problems," Fred said, shaking his head.

"Dolt, we were fifth years too, just a couple of years ago," George said, smirking.

"Yeah, I know," Fred said with a grin. "We had problems too. Only, we _still_ have them."

*

"Ginny! Honestly, don't do this to me again!" Rory yelled at her neighbor.

"Five more minutes, Mum… Ginny needs sleep."

Rory's nose twitched. It was a habit of hers whenever she was annoyed, and it often reminded Ginny of a rabbit. Now, though, since the latter was asleep, no snide comments were made.

"Ginny," tried Aurora again, "don't you want to wake up and say hi to Harry, here?" she cooed.

One of Ginny's eyes flickered open. Her lips were curled into a thoughtful frown as she sat up.

"I'm not a prat. You can shut up now…" Ginny stated shortly. Yet there was something about the look in her eye that Aurora felt like starting on an endless rant of questions. The girl kept her head, though, and slung her book bag over her shoulder and walked out.

Something had come to Ginny in the few nose-twitching moments between Aurora's attempts at waking her. Something that Ginny thought she could use… Something that would help her – and hopefully, everyone else…

And yet it was something dreadful. As soon as the door shut behind her friend, Ginny's frown grew more worried and pronounced than ever. Ginny had a hunch, yet to share it with Ron, Hermione, and Harry – because of course that would be the only thing to do about it – would be difficult. Yet she had to try.

This thought haunted her as she joined Aurora, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and – to her slight annoyance – Neville for breakfast. She couldn't say anything in front of _him. And yet, the silence that morning was so unbearable, that Ginny could hardly restrain herself from shouting out to everyone in the Great Hall._

"So," she said, taking a stab at conversation, though noticing that Aurora, who kept shooting curious glances her way, seemed to be the only one who had noticed her presence, "how 's the whole – erm – prefect thing going?"

Hermione looked up at her, and Ginny let out a sigh of relief. At least now she knew she wasn't invisible. She had had doubts as to whether or not Aurora had been looking straight through her to Neville, and silly as the thought was, it was rather disturbing.

"Alright, I suppose," Hermione said blandly. "We haven't had anything very _important_ to do, though. Just attending meetings…"

"It sucks," Ron said, "such a waste of time. Now I'm actually expected to _behave_…" he grumbled, stabbing his toast with the butter knife.

All eyes turned automatically to Harry. His eyes met Ginny's and he blinked at her.

"What? I'm not a prefect. Why're you all looking at me?"

Ginny blushed embarrassedly, now staring at her half-eaten sausage as the silence ensued. It would take some getting used to, the fact that Ron was a prefect and Harry wasn't.

"Sorry for trying to make conversation…" she muttered.

Harry sighed and put down his fork. He glanced from Ron to Ginny, and muttered a quick, "Eh, don't worry about it. It's not your fault I had no sleep last night; it's Ron's." All eyes were back on Harry in a flash. "It's true," he went on, now turning to face his friend. "If you had showed up last night, Angelina wouldn't have –"

"Me?" Ron broke in. "You're blaming me for your stupid Quidditch issues?"

Harry ignored him, turning back to Ginny. "Do you want to be our new Keeper? Wood's gone, so we're a player short. It was going to be either you or Ron. And since your brother is being incompetent…"

"I am NOT incompetent!" Ron yelled, standing up.

Ginny eyes grew wide. "Keeper?" she squeaked. "_Me?_" She looked from Harry to Ron, chewing her lip. Ginny knew Ron well, better than Harry or Hermione did. Hell, he was her brother, just a year older than her. And she knew for a fact that being on the Quidditch team had been a dream of his ever since Fred and George got on as Beaters. He had experienced having his ego crushed several times before, and it had made him very much unconfident. Yet Ginny knew that if she was to accept Harry's offer, and be the new Gryffindor Keeper, it would break Ron forever. Ron had already broken once, last year, when Harry became the fourth champion. Ginny hated to see what it would be like a second time.

And so, she answered, "Do I have to be Keeper? Next year, you'll need recruits for _all the positions – except for Keeper and Seeker, I mean. Can't I try out for another? I could be a – a reserve. Wasn't Katie one some four or five years ago? That way you can have Ron _and_ me. And you won't have to thieve out a bunch of new players next year."_

Ron looked at Ginny, who looked back. His mouth twitched briefly into a smile for his sister, before he sat down and resumed breakfast where he had left off. Harry, on the other hand, was deep in thought.

"Put both of you on the team? I don't know. Angelina only wanted one of you for now. But her reason was because she said it was Weasley blood that the team needed. Did your dad or mom ever play Quidditch?" Harry asked.

"No," brother and sister answered together.

"But there was that uncle… or was he a cousin?" Ginny continued.

"I think it was Dad's second cousin. Y'know, the one Uncle Bill always made fun of," Ron clarified.

"Yeah, well him – he was a Gryffindor something or other… I mean he played on the team, but I'm not sure which position."

"I was just asking. I don't really need a full family tree of Quidditch players, here…" Harry said.

"Well, if we're done with the Quidditch talk, can we please go to _class_?" Hermione broke in finally.

Ron looked up at her with a grin. "You will never understand the importance of sports, will you?"

*

A/N: Probably the most pointless chapter I've ever written. But r/r and then I guess I'll find out what you think.

Anyone have suggestions for how to continue this? I have an eventual plan, but 'eventual plans' usually only happen 'eventually' which tends to refer to 'much later'. And much later usually doesn't mean now. Usually, anyway…

If you have ideas, include them in your review.


End file.
